Uncategorized – Page 17 – PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE

Mike Trowler Rescued Cropper The Fox And Found His New Best Friend

Fox Hunting:- “The English country gentleman galloping after the Fox – the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable” ~ Oscar Wilde.

When Mike Trowler first met Cropper the Fox he had been in a tangle with a dog and came off worse. Cropper had been rescued by The Fox Project in Tunbridge Wells. Not only was he badly injured, he was also suffering from toxoplasmosis, a dangerous parasitic infection. He was in no shape to be returned to the wild. There were only two choices: euthanize Cropper or find him a home. That is where Mike came in.

Mike Towler with rescued red fox in garden. Kent, UK, May 2009. — Mike Trowler with Cropper, the rescued Red Fox in his garden.

Mike Trowler gave Cropper a home. A retired engineer, has been described as a man on a mission. Mike is fascinated by Fox behaviour and spends a great deal of time with them. In addition to nursing injured Foxes back to health, he also takes in orphaned Fox cubs and raises them until they can be released back into the wild. He does this by releasing them into his nine-acre garden. A few remain to be fed each night, some stay in the area for several years, while others take off to establish their own territories further afield.

CROPPER 2 — Mike and Cropper having a nap

When Cropper was nursed back to health by Mike’s patience, love and determination, Cropper became a member of Mike’s family. Cropper would eat food from the dog’s dish and curl up with the cats, but mostly, he would spend time with Mike. The two would even go for walks together and Mike would roll him over and give him belly rubs

After six happy years with Mike, Cropper passed away in 2007. However, another Fox, Jack, who had been suffering similar ailments, has moved in with Mike. Jack enjoys watching TV with Mike and even reluctantly tolerates a bath in the sink.

In addition to Foxes, Mike is also friends with a couple of Badgers. One of the Badgers, a female he named Benji, eats from a bowl while he holds it and allow him to pet her.

Mike warns that rescuing Foxes takes a great deal of patience and understanding, and a strong awareness of Fox behaviour. He says that Fox urine is especially odorous and difficult to remove.

The Fox Project is a Wildlife Information Bureau and Fox Deterrence Consultancy that was established in 1991, they added a Wildlife Hospital in 1993. They admit and treat around 700 Foxes and 250 cubs annually.

Mike Trowler and Cropper
A Day In The Life Of Jack
The Fox The Fox Project

On Patrol With The Fox Ambulance

The National Fox Welfare Society

PLEASE click the SHARE buttons below to spread the message. You can also receive NEWS and UPDATES when you sign-up at the top of this page. Thank you.

REMEMBERING SATAO, THE ELEPHANT KILLED BY POACHERS FOR HIS TUSKS SO LONG THEY TOUCHED THE GROUND

**THE MAGNIFICENT SATAO ~ RICHARD MOLLER/TSAVO TRUST**

Satao was one of the largest Elephants in the world. His weight was estimated to be over 7 tons and his tusks were so long he could rest them on the ground.

By logic, his size should have made him unreachable for any natural predators. However, in a world of destruction and corruption, logic doesn’t prevent the extinction of the African Elephant. Satao fell prey to poachers for his ivory in May 2014, which triggered a huge wave of grief in Kenya followed by international outrage in the news and on Twitter and Facebook.

Born in the late 1960s in Tsavo, Satao caused great amazement to everyone who ever caught a glimpse of him; rangers, tourists but also poachers. Many believe that Satao had the understanding that his tusks were beyond the ordinary. In fact, he had adjusted his behaviour to keep his tusks out of sight, which was incredibly impressive and heart-breaking at the same time. Impressive, because this once again proved how very intelligent Elephants really are, and sad, because Satao was nonetheless poisoned by arrows that caused his death.

The Tsavo Trust had been monitoring the Elephant’s movements using aerial reconnaissance for the last 18 months, and thanks to his enormous tucks the beast was ‘easily identifiable’ from the air.

But the technology was not enough to save the iconic beast from the hands of the poachers.

A Tsavo Trust spokesman said at the time: ‘With great sadness, we report the death of Satao, one of Tsavo’s most iconic and well-loved tuskers.

‘This magnificent Elephant was widely known in Tsavo East National Park, where he was observed with awe by many thousands of Tsavo’s visitors over the years.

‘No longer will Tsavo and Kenya benefit from his mighty presence.’

‘Satao, whose tusks were so long they trailed the ground, was discovered with his face hacked off at Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park’

He added: ‘The arrow had entered his left flank and he stood no chance of survival. We spotted his carcass on 2nd June but to avoid any potential false alarms, we first took pains to verify the carcass really was his.

‘Today it is with enormous regret that we confirm there is no doubt that Satao is dead, killed by an ivory poacher’s poisoned arrow to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for ivory in far off countries.

‘A great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantelpiece.’

‘Rest in peace, Old Friend, you will be missed, he added.

Photos of his hacked off face and tusks circled the Internet and recorded the bitter loss and undignified death of this incredibly rare tusker.

**AN UNDIGNIFEID END: SATAO WAS FOUND WITH HIS FACE AND TUSKS HACKED OFF!**

Wildlife filmmaker based in Kenya Mark Deeble who had written a blog post Satao: last of the great tuskers about how poachers had been hunting Satao for some time and how he was injured but managed to escape until now:

He said “I was thankful that the bull’s wounds were healing and that we hadn’t had to dart him, but I was devastated that poachers had somehow managed to predict his movements and get close enough to fire two poison arrows into him. I am appalled at what that means – that the survival skills that the bull has painstakingly learnt over half a century have been rendered useless by the poachers’ use of mass-produced Chinese goods, GPS smartphones, cheap motorcycles and night vision goggles.

I think the old bull knows that poachers want his tusks, and I hate that he knows.

More than anything, I hate the thought that poachers are now closing in on one of the world’s most iconic Elephants.”

His fears came to reality on the 30^th of May 2014!!

RIP Satao, you will NEVER be forgotten.

**SATAO DRINKS AT A WATER HOLE IN TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK, KENYA, IN 2013, WHEN THE MAGNIFICENT TUSKER WAS IN HIS PRIME – MARK DEEBLE**

NO ONE IN THE WORLD NEEDS AN ELEPHANT TUSK BUT AN ELEPHANT. ~ THOMAS SCHMID

A variety of styles of Nobody In The World Needs An Elephant Tusk Except Elephants tops are available at Save The Elephant with all proceeds helping Elephant charities.

Please SHARE to raise awareness to the plight of Elephants at the hands of poachers. You can also SIGN UP for news and updates straight to your inbox by registering in the top right of this page. Thank you.

Captive Dolphin Attacked A Trainer At The Miami Seaquarium Prompting Another USDA Investigation

The Miami Seaquarium has once again made news after a USDA investigation discovered that a captive dolphin attacked a trainer, resulting in her hospitalization.

A video of a dolphin body slamming a trainer in the sea was shared on TikTok.

Sundance, the trainer’s dolphin, slammed into her three times and dragged her underwater at one point.

@scphoto_ky
A dolphin trainer was just attacked by Flipper. Police just arrived. 😦 #dolphinattack #miami #seaquarium
♬ original sound – SCPhoto_KY

The trainer struggled to free himself and swam to the pool’s edge.

“The recent news of a dolphin attacking a trainer at Miami Seaquarium is terrible and highlights how dolphins suffer for entertainment while putting workers in danger,” Nicole Barrantes, a wildlife campaign manager with World Animal Protection, stated.

Sundance and all other dolphins in captivity should be retired and released to a seaside sanctuary. This cruel industry must end.”

Please SHARE to raise awareness to the cruelty of captivity. You can also SIGN UP to have regular news and updates delivered straight to your inbox by registering in the top left-hand of the page.

18-YR-OLD BLIND DACHSHUND WAS DUMPED AT SHELTER, CLINGS TO FIRST PERSON WHO SHOWED HER LOVE

She wagged her tail as her new mom signed the papers to adopt her.

Old, blind and lost at a kill shelter, Muneca didn’t seem like she had much left to hold on to.

Until the first person to show her kindness came along.

And then, the 18-year-old dachshund refused to let go.

Muneca, an 18-year-old blind Dachshund, was dumped at an animal shelter, leaving her alone and terrified. At this time, she no longer had a home, her vision, or someone to love her.

But Muneca’s story didn’t end with a bittersweet moment at what seemed the end of the line. Hwang’s photograph moved thousands to share her plight.

Just two days after being dumped at the shelter, the Frosted Faces Foundation stepped up to get Muneca out of there.

Suddenly, a dog who seemed to have no one had people all over the world lining up to take her home. She found the perfect fit with Amy Gann. Literally.

“We screened a lot of people and talked to all their references,” Kelly Smíšek, executive director of Frosted Faces, tells The Dodo. “We home-checked a bunch of people.

“By the time we approved someone and they drove to San Diego, I met them, I was very nervous. I thought, ‘I hope we picked the right person.’ And immediately, it was, ‘Oh my Gosh. I’m so glad she’s going home with you.'”

It turned out Muneca had a lot more memories to make outside of that shelter. Even before she found her real home. Like when she soaked in a much-needed bath.

Or when she sprawled out on a picnic blanket, chomping on a treat.

“I can’t put her down,” Gann wrote to Smíšek in a text message. “I have very close family and we pass her along like a new baby in the family.”

In fact, Gann even made a sling for Muneca, so she can keep her close to her while doing chores around the house.

Muneca may not be able to see the setting sun on a California beach, but she can surely feel the warmth that will embrace her for the rest of her days.

Please SHARE this beautiful story to highlight the importance of adopting rescue animals. You can also SIGN UP to receive NEWS & UPDATES direct to your inbox by registering in the top righthand corner of this page.

From an original story from The Dodo in 2016.

RARE BIRTH OF SUMATRAN RHINO BRINGS HOPE FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES

A Sumatran Rhino has successfully given birth in an Lampung sanctuary, environment officials said, in a boost for conservation efforts targeting the critically endangered animal.

THE CLAF BORN IN WAY KAMBAS NATIONAL PARK

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates fewer than 80 Sumatran Rhinos remain in the world, mainly in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

A Rhino named Rosa gave birth to a female calf on Thursday in Way Kambas National Park in Lampung, after suffering eight miscarriages since 2005, when she was brought in from the wild for a breeding program.

“The birth of this Sumatran Rhino is such happy news amid the government’s and partners’ efforts to increase the population,” Wiratno, a senior official at Indonesia’s environment ministry, said in a statement Monday.

The calf, who has yet to be named, brings the number of Sumatran Rhinos in the Way Kambas sanctuary to eight.

Successful births are rare. The calf’s father, named Andatu, was the first Sumatran Rhino born in a sanctuary in more than 120 years.

Standing between 3.3 – 5 feet, Sumatran Rhinos are the smallest of all Rhinoceroses and they have a lifespan of around 35 – 40 years. They were once found across South and Southeast east, from the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in Bhutan to eastern India, through Myanmar, Thailand, and possibly to Vietnam and China. Now, the species is critically endangered, with less than 80 individuals remaining in the wild in small fragmented habitats on the island of Sumatra and nearby Borneo.

In 2017, Rhino conservation experts and the Indonesian government concluded that the only way to save the species was through a captive breeding program. The move was similar to an initiative launched in the 1980s that saw 40 Sumatran rhinos captured for breeding. But in this case, nearly half of the captive animals had died by 1995 and not a single calf had been born.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the Sumatran rhino, the smallest of all Rhino species, as critically endangered.

Multiple threats have brought them to the brink of extinction, including poaching and climate change.

This handout photo released on March 28 and made available on March 29, 2022 shows female rhino named Rosa (l) with her new baby born at the Way Kambas National Park, in Way Kambas, in Lampung province. Rosa delivered a baby rhino on March 24, for the first time after translocating from roaming in villages. A critically endangered Sumatran rhino was born in an Indonesian sanctuary bringing hope to the conservation of the rapidly declining species, an official said. (AFP/Handout)

Rhino horn is often illegally traded for traditional Chinese medicine.

Indonesia is also racing to save another critically endangered species – the Javan Rhino.

Once numbering in the thousands across Southeast Asia, fewer than 80 are alive today, mainly in a national park on Indonesia’s main island of Java.

Efforts to conserve the species have shown promising results with the birth of five calves in Ujung Kulon National Park last year.

Please SHARE for others to enjoy. You can also REGISTER for NEWS & UPDATES straight to your inbox by signing up in the top right of this page. Thank you.

THE ELEPHANT THAT WAS IN THE ROOM

Save The Asian Elephants (STAE) and all the animal welfare sector are aghast at the weekend’s media reports that the Government has abandoned the Animals Abroad Bill despite all its commitments otherwise, received regularly by STAE’s team as pledges, promises, “it’s been cleared in Cabinet” and “you’re pushing at an open door” in over 20 meetings with No 10 and Defra since lockdown.

**THE ANIMALS ABROAD BILL WOULD HELP STOP CRUELTY LIKE THIS**

STAE is working to bring the entire sector together to ensure all is done to see this decision, if confirmed, reversed. Indeed with public support for a ban to protect elephants from the most extreme violence largely driven by the UK market running at over 90%, STAE’s petition now touching 1.1 million, and extreme emotions evoked in the electorate by torture of baby elephants, any such decision seems extraordinary as a General Election looms before late 2024.

**PHAJAAN OR ‘CRUSHING’ IS THE TRADITIONAL ASIAN TORTURE OF YOUNG ELEPHANTS TO BREAK THEIR SPIRIT. IT IS DONE SO THAT THEY ARE SUBMISSIVE TO HUMANS.**

Why on earth would Government be committed to these cruel acts? It must surely be in its own interests to take a principled lead over other parties (who will support it) and other nations, by pursuing the Bill. They are important measures now expanded in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare to all species abused in overseas tourism (including big cats, apes, bears, equines, dolphins) and not particularly controversial or difficult. On the contrary they are welcomed across the political divide. None of the measures to ban ads for “low welfare venues” impinge on Tory peers’ shooting weekends or even pigging out on foie gras, if that’s their tragic choice.

STAE CEO Duncan McNair speaking to Protect All Wildlife said “If confirmed, its sickening and foreshadowed in STAE’s communications with Govt and officials over the past year and my US TV interview on Unchained TV, despite every reassurance from Govt (including a letter signed by the Minister a week ago) all was on track.”

Muted claims that the Russian war on Ukraine has stolen all available Parliamentary time are unconvincing. STAE traces the evidence of wavering elements in Govt much further back. As they say, the first casualty of war is the truth. We hope the Defra Ministers at the helm will turn this round, publish the Bill, consult and bring it into Parliament soon.

Thank you to Duncan McNair CEO, Save The Asian Elephants for speaking to us.

Please SHARE to raise awareness to this issue. You can also REGISTER to receive news and updates direct to your inbox.

Remembering When Meat Loaf Rescued A Puppy From A Dumpster While On Tour

Many abandoned dogs are rescued every day and when rock star singer Meat Loaf was on tour, the crew one night noticed someone left a puppy behind a dumpster. They decided to rescue the puppy and proceeded to feed, cuddle and take her to the vet.

They posted on their Facebook page a picture of the puppy they rescued. The puppy joined the band on the road and they named her Little Ms. Karma. The puppy temporarily joined them on tour and adjusted well as the band took turns giving her lots of love.

Meat said in the post “Some of you already know that the other night after our rehearsal, our crew saw someone dumping this beautiful baby girl behind a dumpster. They scooped her up and after a couple days of Vet visits, sleeping, lots of cuddles and settling into life on the road, Little Ms Karma, left us last night to go to her new forever home. We’ll miss her but she’s on her way to her new momma and sisters and a big ole ranch to run around and we’re even more excited that she’s staying a part of the extended Meat Loaf family forever!!!

But life on the road is no place for a dog and eventually, a forever home was made with the family of one of the crew. So Little Ms Karma said goodbye to the band to join one member of her extended Meat Loaf family who lives on a ranch with his wife and daughters. Remembering Meat Loaf’s famous Grammy Award for Best Rock Solo Performance for “I’d Do Anything for Love” is truly reflected by the rescue.

Love is what makes us do things to have a little bit of heaven on earth. Love is also paying good karma forward and I think this is the main reason why Meat Loaf and his crew gave this sweet dog a whole lot of loving and a forever home.

Karma is much bigger now and has settled into her new life. She even has fans of her own!

Watch a video about Meat Loaf and Karma here:

Please share if you like this rescue story of love for Little Ms. Karma!

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Launches Largest Tiger Rescue In Thailand As Phuket Zoo Closes

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) is carrying out the largest tiger rescue in Thailand’s history as the renowned wildlife animal welfare and rescue organisation prepares to take custody of 11 tigers and two bears handed over by Phuket Zoo.

WFFT founder and director Edwin Wiek confirmed the news.

Edwin Wiek of the Wildlife Friends Foundation

“We are finishing off the new side enclosures for the Tigers right now, and we will be ready to pick up the first 4-6 in the coming week. We are still waiting for documents to move the Tigers, but I am pretty sure this ill be done by the end of the week.” Mr Wiek told Protect All Wildlife.

**Part of the area at the WFFT site in Phetchaburi that the tigers and bears from Phuket Zoo will soon call home. Photo: Edwin Wiek / WFFT**

Mr Wiek explained that he and Sangduen “Lek” Chailert, founder of the Elephant Nature Park, discussed the handover of the animals with the Phuket Zoo owners.

The zoo has been hard hit by the financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the facility without tourist visitors for nearly two years.

Despite previous encounters between WFFT and Phuket Zoo over the conditions many of the animals were kept in at the zoo, the parties set aside any animosity in order to determine the safe future for the animals, Mr Wiek noted.

**Horrifying scenes inside abandoned Phuket zoo where starving animals are forced to live in squalor**

“They were genuinely very concerned about the animals. They said they had refused offers for the animals’ skins and bones,” he said.

“As WFFT has the facilities and expertise to take care of large carnivores and currently houses more than 30 other bears, it was concluded that WFFT could provide the best life-long care for these animals which require urgent rehoming,” Mr Wiek explained.

https://youtu.be/D81HbpFLIh4

**Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) will also rehome two bears from Phuket Zoo. Photo: Edwin Wiek / WFFT**

The rescue and rehoming of 11 Tigers to a sanctuary will be the biggest Tiger rescue in Thailand’s history. However, due to the financial impact of COVID-219, WFFT must first raise the funds required to rescue these 13 animals. As such WFFT is asking for financial support to undertake this historic rescue, he noted.

“This rescue will be no small feat for WFFT. The financial resources required to rescue and transport 13 large animals from Phuket to WFFT alone will be significant,” Mr Wiek said.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have received more calls than ever from entertainment venues who cannot afford to feed their animals anymore. We try to help as many as we can. The fact is, though, that without financial support, we cannot help more.

“We are urging our friends in Phuket, in Thailand and around the world to please help with what will be a huge rescue, not only for WFFT, but for Tigers in Thailand,” he said.

WFFT is a registered foundation in Thailand.

“In Thailand, like in every country in the world, animals are abused and exploited for profit and human gratification. There are many examples of animal exploitation within the tourist industry, for example, photo prop animals, animals performing in degrading shows, and elephant camps. Furthermore, there is still a thriving illegal trade in wild animals for pets and medicine,” the organisation explains on its website.

The top three major goals of the organisation are:

To rescue and rehabilitate captive wild animals and provide high-quality care and a safe environment for them to live for the rest of their lives, in a setting as close to nature as possible.
To campaign against all forms of animal abuse and exploitation in Thailand, work towards ending the illegal pet trade and discourage people from keeping all wild animals as pets. WFFT actively seeks to combat the illegal wildlife trade and to rescue animals from poor conditions or exploitation from human entertainment.
To provide veterinary assistance to any sick or injured animal; wild or domestic.

To learn more about Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), visit the official website here: https://www.wfft.org/

This video shows various animals including Tigers, Bears, and Alligators left for dead at Phuket Zoo due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The tourism industry all over the world has definitely been brought to a sudden halt but the animals who played a major role in that have also been abandoned. The clip was originally uploaded on YouTube and was shot by an Australian named Minh Nguyen, who lives and works in Thailand.

“We are still fundraising for the tigers, and hopefully we will get some more much needed financial support in the weeks to come.” told Protect All Wildlife.

If you like to help fund this amazing rescue operation please donate ANY amount, large or small, at Phuket Zoo Animal Rescue.

Please SHARE to raise awareness to this urgent rescue. You can also SIGN UP to receive News and Updates straight to your inbox.

Juno The Missing Norfolk Lowland Search And Rescue Dog Found After Being Missing For Six Days

Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue deployed their team to assist in the search for the their missing search dog Juno. They deployed foot teams, drones and the boat. Juno was spotted by one of drone pilot Paul as he flew his drone overhead, and he was able to confirm that she was alive when she looked up at the drone. They immediately tasked their boat which was nearby on the river as well as both of their foot teams to the location. She was recovered by the boat and brought back to safety before being taken to the vets for a check up.This is a brilliant result for all involved and a great example of Lowland Rescue teams working together.

Juno was missing for six days missing over Christmas.

There **JUNO IS REUNITED WITH HER OWNER IAN DANKS**

There was an incredible turnout to search for Juno. Juno has been found alive & well, and is now off the vets for a check up. Monitor the news and our social channels later today for more info and video footage. Well done to all involved. As a team, we are elated. Juno was spotted by one of our Search Managers, using one of our drone assets. Today was a great example of inter-team working.

Please be thankful for these amazing people and their rescue dogs who go out in ALL weathers to rescue us in our time of need.

https://youtu.be/pknfGePuvok

Please SHARE for others to enjoy. You can also SIGN UP to recieve updates and news staright to your inbox.

‘IF THEY DIE, WE ALL DIE’ – DROUGHT KILLS IN KENYA!

The withered carcasses of livestock are reminders that drought has descended yet again in northern Kenya, the latest in a series of climate shocks rippling through the Horn of Africa.

**Mohamed Mohamud, a ranger from the Sabuli Wildlife Conservancy, looks at the carcass of a giraffe that died from hunger.** (AP Photo)

As world leaders addressed the global climate summit in Glasgow, pastoralists watched their beloved animals suffer from lack of water and food. Yusuf Abdullahi says he has lost 40 goats. “If they die, we all die,” he says.

**Herder Yusuf Abdullahi walks past the carcasses of his forty goats that died of hunger in Dertu, Wajir County, Kenya. He said “If theY die, we all die!”** (AP Photo)

Kenya’s authorities has declared a nationwide catastrophe in 10 of its 47 counties. The United Nations says greater than 2 million individuals are severely meals insecure. And with individuals trekking farther in quest of meals and water, observers warn that tensions amongst communities may sharpen.

Wildlife have begun to die, too, says the chair of the Subuli Wildlife Conservancy, Mohamed Sharmarke.

“The warmth on the bottom tells you the signal of hunger we’re going through,” he says.

Rain has failed for two seasons in the east African country, leaving families without enough food and water. It also has snuffed out pasture for livestock, crippling herder communities throughout the nation.

In September, Nairobi and aid agencies estimated that 2.1 million people in 10 counties were affected by the drought. The numbers are expected to rise to 2.4 million by this month, relief agencies reported.

The harrowing footage was taken by Kevin Mtai, a climate campaigner from Pokot in Kenya.

He said: “In Kenya we have contributed less carbon emissions, but we are the ones paying the highest price.

“Animals are dying and people are suffering because of the climate crisis.”

**The children of herders walk past cattle carcasses in the desert near Dertu, Wajir County, Kenya**. (AP Photo)

Experts warn that such climate shocks will become more common across Africa, which contributes the least to global warming, but will suffer from it the most.

“We do not have a spare planet in which we will seek refuge once we have succeeded in destroying this one,” the executive director of East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Workneh Gebeyehu, said last month.

As if in a macabre parade, cattle carcasses line the two sides of the dusty road leading into Biyamadow, a sleepy village in northern Kenya’s Wajir county.

The grisly spectacle of dismembered animals rotting beneath the scorching sun is the result of a prolonged drought that has been pushing pastoral communities here – and the livestock they exclusively rely on – to the brink of disaster, reports Aljazeera.

“In 72 years of life, I have never seen something like this,” said Ibrahim Adow, a Biyamadow resident.

**cattle carcasses line the two sides of the dusty road leading into Biyamadow, a sleepy village in northern Kenya’s Wajir county.** [Virginia Pietromarchi/Al Jazeera]

Gabriel Ekaale, a policy officer for the World Food Programme based in Lodwar told Sky News: “It’s estimated about 600,000 members of the population in Turkana County are in need of food or cash assistance.”

Kenya’s Catholic Bishops met in Nairobi this week to ask the country’s Catholic faithful to donate food to regions affected by severe drought, the Vatican News reports.

They released an open letter stating: “It is becoming clear that the frequent droughts that we are experiencing in many parts of our country are as a result of global climate change and environmental degradation.

“Here in Kenya, it seems our model of development has led to a culture of degradation of our environment and the depletion of our natural resources.”

Please SHARE to raise awareness to this tragedy. You can also SIGN UP to receive news and updates straight to your inbox.